Cover for plants



June 18, 1963 H. J. WlTKOWSKl 3,093,930

COVER FOR PLANTS Filed March 6, 1961 United States Patent 3,093,930 COVER FOR PLANTS Henry J. Witkowski, 3934 Davenport Ave., Erie, Pa. Filed Mar. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 93,600 1 Claim. (Cl. 47-29) This invention relates to covers for plants and, more particularly, to the type of cover known as a hot cap. 1 Various types of hot caps have been used to cover plants but these prior caps have had various disadvanrages. Prior caps of this type have been made of cardboard and other materials which are easily damaged by weather. The prior caps also had no convenient efiicient method of ventilating them in mild weather and most of them had to be discarded after one seasons use.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages in prior caps by providing a hot cap of a unique construction which will stand up relatively rigid in ordinary weather and which is durable and may be used a number of consecutive seasons.

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide an improved hot cap.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved combination ventilating means and hot cap.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved structure of a hot cap and ventilating means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hot cap which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and simple and efiicient to use.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the fiorm, size, proportions, and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a view of a hot cap according to the invention;

' IG. 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the hot p;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the hot cap; and

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 2.

Now with more specific reference to the drawing, the hot cap shown is generally in the shape of a hat having an outwardly extending annular rim 11 and a generally frusto-conical cover portion 12 terminating at the top in a dome. The cover portion 12 is made up of a shoulder 13 which extends upwardly generally at an angle of ap proximately eighty degrees joined at a corner 14 with an intermediate extending part 15 which extends upwardly at an angle of approximately seventy-five degrees to an annular part 16. From the part 16, the side extends up to an upper portion 17 which extends up at approximately forty-five degrees and terminates in a crown 18.

A hood 19 has an underside which is a counterpart of the crown 18 and is rotatably supported on the crown by means of a double headed stud 20. The stud 20 forms both a support and a pivot for the crown 1 8 to be rotated to move aligned holes 22 in its intermediate part with holes formed at alternate points in the hood.

Ribs 24 are in the form of corrugations and they extend from the rim 11 upwardly to the crown and join at the crown. These ribs not only reinforce the cover and hold it erect and rigid but also improve its appearance.

3,093,930 Patented June 18, 1963 Gussets 26 are web like parts which extend outwardly from the ribs to the rim and further reinforce the hot cap.

The hot cap may be approximately three inches high from the rim up to the corner 14 and about five inches high from the rim up to the part 16. The hot cap may be approximately twelve inches in overall height. The hot cap is approximately six-teen inches overall diameter outside the rim and the rim itself may be approximately one and onehalf inches wide. The material can vary in thickness but it has been found that a thickness of between ten to thirty-thousandths of an inch will make an eflicient hot cap.

When placed over a plant in a position like that shown in FIG. 2, the hood 19 may be rotated to bring the holes 21 into alignment with the holes 22 for ventilation or it can be rotated to bring them out of alignment therewith. The hot caps can be nested one in the other for storage and can be used year after year. The cap acts as a damper to close the vent holes and, therefore, suitable ventilation can be provided in mild weather.

The material found most suitable is polyethylene which is transparent and allows the rays of the sun to impine upon the plants to encourage them to grow. Obviously, other suitable materials could be used. This material is sufiiciently flexible to permit the hood to flex sufdciently that it can rotate over the corrugations of the sides of the cover portion 12.

The foregoing specification sets forth the invention in its preferred practical forms but the structure shown is capable of modification within a range of equivalents Without departing from the invention which is to be understood is broadly novel as is commensurate with the appended claim.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

A hot cap comprising a cover portion having generally frusto-conical sides, said cover portion being made of thin transparent plastic material and terminating at its upper end in a crown, an outwardly directed rim integrally fixed to and extending outwardly from the large end of said cover portion, corrugations formed in said cover portion and extending from said rim to said crown, a hood in the same general shape as said crown and rotatably supported on said crown and overlying a part of said cover portion, a member extending through said crown and said hood and disposed to allow said crown to rotate about an axis substantially coincident with the central vertical axis of said cover portion, said hood having corrugations therein overlying the upper ends of said corrugations in said cover portion, and holes in said crown adapted to register with holes in said hood, said hood being adapted to flex sufliciently to allow the corrugations thereof to override the upper portions of said corrugations in said cover portion whereby said hood can rotate to bring the holes therein out of register with said holes in said crown.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

